The Princess's Secret
by LavaringX
Summary: A fanfiction I wrote based off of some fanart by Doctordaisy on Tumblr. After Princess Harumi begins behaving suspiciously, Mr. Hutchins investigates her true intentions. CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SEASON 8. Huge Thank-you to Candaru for proofreading and for giving me her suggestions! Rated T for Blood and some dark themes. Edit: Thank you Doctordaisy for letting me use your art!


Across the many years through which Mr. Hutchins had served Ninjago's royal family, he had done so diligently and faithfully, and had always performed the tasks that had been asked of him. After all, he'd never had any reason to complain. The Emperor and Empress of Ninjago had always been good to him, and his job as a caretaker was very lucrative, more than enough to provide for his family and purchase a comfortable home in the heart of New Ninjago City just for them. Mr. Hutchins was also a very dutiful and loyal man, and had also taken it upon himself to protect the privacy of the royal family as they requested; although there were the occasional bouts of attacks from snakes, ancient demonic entities, and evil robots, life was generally peaceful, and both Mr. Hutchins and the royal family were quite happy.

Everything changed, however, when Mr. Hutchins learned that the royal family intended to adopt a daughter, a young orphan girl named Harumi. At first, Mr. Hutchins commended this decision; after all, it was a very kind-hearted and generous thing to do. However, as time went on with the young girl in their care, Mr. Hutchins began to grow disdainful and suspicious. Although Harumi seemed kind and happy on the outside, there was always something off about her, something that Hutchins couldn't quite put his finger on. During the first couple of years, Mr. Hutchins assumed that Harumi was simply overtaken by the despair of losing her birth parents, and was putting on a face for the benefit of the Emperor and Empress. This was understandable, and although he was sympathetic, Hutchins did not think it would be appropriate to pry into the young princess's personal affairs until he got to know her better.

Unfortunately, as Harumi began to age into a teenager, Hutchins _did_ start to "get to know her better." After dinner on one fateful evening, Hutchins stood guard while the royal family ate, which was not unusual (especially since there had just been word of an attack by a legion of ghosts in the far-off town of Stiix).

"So, Harumi. Of all the villains these Ninja have fought, who do you think has been the most dangerous? Lord Garmadon? That Master Chen? These Ghost Warriors?" asked the Emperor, over their evening meal.

"No, none of those," replied the Princess. "I'd say that their greatest villain has to be the one they never even knew was there in the first place."

The royal family laughed at the cleverness of Harumi's remark, and had their servants clear the table after they were done eating. What Hutchins saw next, however, disturbed him more than anything he had ever seen before. Harumi smiled and laughed when she decided to leave the table, but as she got up and turned away from it, Hutchins noticed the change instantly, and it was jarring. Harumi, who had been as happy as Hutchins had ever seen her one moment, immediately had the darkest expresion he had ever seen on a human being when she turned away, an expression so sinister it sent a chill down his spine. Standing upright as usual, Hutchins watched her walk away and wondered if the stress of his job was finally starting to make him imagine things. After all, teenagers were no strangers to scowling (Hutchins had a few of his own back home with his wife) - but Harumi's expression was different; vengeful, even. Hers was the face of someone consumed with pure hatred, the face someone made before delivering the killing blow to their worst enemy. And then it was gone as quickly as it came, and Harumi smiled happily once more as the royal family wished her a good night's sleep in her quarters.

Mr. Hutchins never mentioned this to anyone, but as the young Harumi began to grow into an adult he could not help but notice that this was not a one-time event. On the Day of the Departed, the royal family was tasked with protecting the sacred Oni Mask of Deception, a legendary artifact which, as far as Hutchins understood, was the key to unleashing an ancient, evil force. Given that he had witnessed the rise of the Overlord both times it had happened and had heard the news of an evil, cursed tentacle monster attacking Stiix, this didn't surprise him as much as it may have surprised others, and Hutchins accepted the newfound responsibility dutifully. Mr. Hutchins expected that, since Harumi had known loved ones she had lost, she would be out purchasing a lantern; and perhaps would be saying a prayer for her birth parents' happy afterlife in the Departed Realm. Instead, Hutchins found Harumi in the corridor of the palace, and once again was unnerved by what he saw; as Harumi appeared to be eyeing the Mask of Deception with a hunger in her face that reminded him of a snake about to devour its prey.

The months passed by, and Hutchins continued to make note of the Princess's bizarre behavior; everything from sneaking off at night to glaring at her parents when their backs were turned. One night, Hutchins had had enough. On a dark night illuminated only by the bright neon of neighboring buildings, Hutchins followed Harumi as she left from her bedtime quarters and ran to the balcony, jumping off of it and fleeing into the night. Hutchins followed her in hot pursuit (he was no stranger to chasing off suspicious characters, and had to be in tip-top physical shape to be the Master at Arms of the royal family), and as Harumi came to a stop in the center of the city, Hutchins watched from a nearby rooftop while Harumi looked over her shoulder for anyone who may have been following her.

Mr. Hutchins continued to eye Harumi as she walked into a shady nightclub, which Hutchins noticed was called "Laughy's". His eye narrowed at this - "Laughy's" was in a rough part of town, and though the barkeep was often oblivious, Hutchins knew it was frequented by gang members and criminals.

 _What is the Princess doing, wandering off into a place like this?_ he thought, as he climbed down a ladder on the side of the building to follow her.

Mr. Hutchins leered into a window on the side of the nightclub, and saw the Princess lower her hood as she walked in and ordered a drink (he silently hoped that it wasn't any form of alcohol). Next, he waited, and soon saw Harumi joined by three shady characters dressed in biker gear, who sat at the table where Harumi was. The Princess didn't seem surprised or scared in the least to see them; on the contrary, she seemed almost pleased, as if satisfied that everything was going exactly how she intended.

All three of the bikers seemed unusual in some way, and Mr. Hutchins thought that he had never seen a group as strange as this one. The first Biker was an incredibly large man, larger than any man Hutchins had ever seen; the second was a girl with bright purple hair and a deranged expression that made even a vicious Serpentine warrior look tame, and the third was a man whose face was completely covered by a biking mask, so that only his eerie red eyes were visible. Mr. Hutchins couldn't hear anything that was being said through the glass, but he could tell that whatever was going on wasn't good, not with characters like these involved. Hutchins knew it was his duty to find out more about this and inform the royal family right away. If Harumi was involved in any sort of trouble, they most certainly needed to know about it.

The next day, Mr. Hutchins waited in the main hallway of the palace, looking for a chance to talk with the Princess. He didn't have to wait long. Dressed in her usual royal attire, Harumi walked through the main hallway, down to the podium where the Mask of Deception was being kept.

"Going somewhere?" asked Mr. Hutchins, as Harumi turned around to face him, startled.

"Oh! Mr. Hutchins, it's you. What are you doing here?" asked Harumi. Her expression had again changed from that of a schemer to a kindhearted princess, although this time, Hutchins wasn't buying it.

"Enough of this rubbish, Princess. Who were those people you were talking to last night? I'm sure your parents would be most interested in hearing where you've been sneaking off to."

"Hutchins, I know your job is to look after me, but it's really nothing to worry about, I'm fine—"

"I'm not interested in hearing if you're 'fine', princess. I want to know what's going on." demanded Hutchins sternly. "I'm not a fool. I know you've been up to something. I've seen the way you look at the royal family when you think they're not looking at you. I've seen the way you covet the Mask of Deception as though it's a more important to you than the air you breathe. And I've seen the people you meet up with when you sneak out at night, who aren't exactly honest-looking, upstanding members of society. So, I'm going to ask you one more time. _Who were you talking to last night?_ "

Harumi stared at Hutchins for a moment, and her face changed to the one that Hutchins had seen that night after dinner, when she looked as though she was consumed by pure vengeance.

"I'm sorry you think that way of me, Hutchins. But I've had enough of this. I'm leaving."

And then, suddenly and without warning, Harumi pulled a small blade from a scabbard tied to her dress, hidden under her ceremonial robes. She swung around and slashed Mr. Hutchins's face with as much force as she could, taking Mr. Hutchins completely by surprise and causing him to fall backwards onto the floor. As Mr. Hutchins tried to regain his balance, he grasped at his face and felt blood pouring out of his right eye socket.

"AAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Hutchins screamed, as he felt his eye and realized what Harumi had just done. The injury he had just sustained would not heal over time. Harumi had partially blinded him.

"If you wish to keep your other eye, never question me again." stated Harumi bluntly. "You're not the only one who's been keeping tabs on someone, _Hutchins_. I know you've been suspicious of me since the day I first came here. You were always going to be the first obstacle I'd need to overcome if I wanted my plan to work… but I've finally figured out the perfect way to get you out of the way. You're going to help me."

Mr. Hutchins turned around and glared at Harumi with more anger than he had ever felt before. "Why would I _ever_ help _you,_ after what you just did?" he spat defiantly, still reeling in pain. "What is it that you're planning, anyway?"

Harumi turned around and walked towards the Mask of Deception, as she spoke to Mr. Hutchins in a soft, singsong voice, almost as though she was singing to an infant.

"I think you know the answer to that question, Hutchins. After all, you even said it yourself, in a way. Ninjago has suffered under the rule of those pathetic fools that _you_ call my parents for far too long. They allow those _Ninja_ to roam free across the land, enforcing their will wherever they choose and caring little about who suffers as a result. My plan is quite simple, really. I think it's time for a change in leadership," Harumi scoffed.

"Are you thinking about overthrowing the royal family? Taking the throne for yourself?"

Harumi laughed; a dark, cold laugh that didn't suit her. "Absolutely not. Others have tried to take over Ninjago before, and they have never succeeded. Pythor, The Overlord, Chen… I've realized something in all the years I've spent cooped up in this… this _prison._ An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again… and so only one man in all of Ninjago has the power to truly make Ninjago great again. The father of that pathetic Green Ninja, the only villain who has even come close to dominion… Lord Garmadon. Lord Garmadon must rise again. For if I want to truly conquer Ninjago and destroy those Ninja once and for all, I need to destroy them from the inside. Lord Garmadon must defeat his son, and _he_ shall become the _new_ Emperor, the ruler Ninjago truly deserves. When Lloyd is betrayed by the man he admired, the Ninjas' spirits will be crushed forever, and nothing will be able to stop us as we remake Ninjago in our own image!"

Mr. Hutchins realized that Harumi was mainly talking to herself more than to him, but even so, he was absolutely horrified by what Harumi was saying. Whatever he had expected, it hadn't been this; being part of a gang was something Hutchins could've seen coming, but attempting to resurrect an ancient evil was beyond anything he could've imagined.

"You won't get away with this," growled Hutchins, as he found his voice again.

The Princess's mouth contorted into a wicked grin, and at that moment Hutchins realized that this was the first true smile he had ever seen upon her face. As if someone had twisted a knife even further into Hutchins's bleeding eye, he realized that Harumi had in fact been wearing her own sort of "Mask of Deception"— one that only he had the power to reveal to the world at large. And at that moment, Hutchins knew that he needed to do just that— the Princess had chosen to reveal her scheme to him, and he was the only one who could do something about it.

But as if the Princess was reading his thoughts, Harumi began to laugh evilly once again.

"And what would you do, Hutchins? Tell my so-called parents? They'd never believe you. The world at large would think you're a fool and the royal family would dismiss you as either a liar or a lunatic. You'd no longer be their Master at Arms…" taunted Harumi, as she began playing with the bloody sword she had used to wound Hutchins earlier.

"That's a price I'm willing to pay, to stop the likes of you," snarled Hutchins in retort, as he spat some of his own blood out onto the ground.

"Mmhmm… Yes… Well, soon, my Sons of Garmadon will steal the Mask of Vengeance from a vault belonging to Borg Industries. When that happens, I want you to find the Ninja and request their special protection for the Mask of Deception... I need to get to know them, if I am to carry out my plan. Oh, by the way, you have a family, don't you, Mr. Hutchins?"

"Why do you care?" asked Hutchins, through gritted teeth.

Harumi sneered at him. "Oh, no reason… I was just thinking about what might happen to them if you try and tell or even _hint_ to the Ninja anything about what happened here, or what you know… You've seen the people I've contacted, from the outside… And you know that I can have them whisk _Mrs._ Hutchins away, along with your children, in an instant if I even suspect that you've told anyone anything… _perhaps even to the Departed Realm._ Understood?"

As Mr. Hutchins's remaining eye stared at Harumi in abject horror, Harumi began to walk down the corridor, stealing a glance at the Mask of Deception for one final time.

"Now, if you'll excuse me… I have to make a certain Green Ninja fall in love with me. Oh, and fix that eye of yours, too. I'd hate to have it all bloody when they arrive."

And with nothing more to say, Harumi walked away, leaving Hutchins more shaken than he had ever been in his life. As mortified as he was, the worst part was that Hutchins knew Harumi was right. There wasn't anything he could do, no one he could tell, and he knew that countless people would pay the price. His own death, he could accept. But his family? They were innocent, just as, long ago, Hutchins believed Harumi might have been. The only thing that could possibly work would be to hide the Mask of Deception, replace it with a decoy… but even then, Harumi would get it in the end, somehow. For as much as he wanted to, Hutchins couldn't cry out or scream or take revenge on Harumi. He had a job to do, and he had to do it well. And no matter what Harumi said, Hutchins knew there must be _something_ he could do, some subtle warning he could tell the Ninja, for them to make of what they would. But as Hutchins helped himself up, he couldn't help but remember the remark Harumi had made at the dinner table those couple of years ago, when he first began to suspect her true intentions...

" _The Greatest Villain is the one they never even knew was there in the first place."_


End file.
